Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz and its characters sadly do not belong to me.

Warnings: AU, eventual yaoi (it might take a while for me to get there)

Pairings: Eventual Ran/Ken, others are still up in the air

Author's Note: Well, I was bitten by a random AU muse (which I think might have escaped from HeatherR), and this is the end result. This story is set in a world that is entirely of my own making because there will eventually be elements of fantasy in it.

Blood Summons

By Rapunzel

Prologue

The sound of the door opening was so soft that it was almost obscured by the noise of a quill scratching over parchment. The man sitting at the large desk in the large room did not glance up from what he was writing, despite the fact that he was perfectly aware that he was no longer alone. Another figure had slipped into the room, stopping without entering the patch of sunshine that streamed in through the large windows behind the desk. The person stood in shadow, waiting to be acknowledged.

The man at the desk half nodded at the figure. "Well?" he said, sounding impatient.

"We found the one you were looking for."

The man straightened, giving the speaker his full attention. "Finally. Where is she?"

"She's dead," came the short reply.

"What!"

"Apparently, she died a few years ago."

"You took too long to find her! Now what will we do? The plan is ruined!" the man fumed.

"Not entirely," his informant answered in an almost lazy voice. "There were children."

At this, the man at the desk perked up. "Her children?"

The figure nodded. "There are two of them, orphans now. A boy, fourteen, and a girl, twelve."

The man seemed pleased by this. "Then all is not lost. Bring the boy here, and we'll use him instead."

His informant shook his head decisively. "The boy won't do. He is too old. He'll be difficult to teach, and he won't agree to the plan. He is already set in his ways."

"What of the girl?"

There was a pause. "She might be suitable for our purposes."

"Good. Bring her to me."

"What should we do with the boy?"

"Leave him be. He may prove useful in the future. Do not let him interfere, but do not damage him. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly."

/-/-/-/

"Ran, will you hurry up? I swear you're dragging your feet just to annoy me."

Ran sighed heavily and addressed his younger sister patiently. "Slow down, Aya. You mustn't ride too fast or you'll fall off."

"I will not," she answered confidently. "Besides, it's late afternoon now, and you said you wanted to be back before dark."

That much was true; he did want to reach the estate before the sun set. In fact, he had never particularly wanted to leave it, but Aya had insisted. There was a faire going on in the nearby village, and she had wanted to go in the worst way, but their guardian had forbidden them to go. In a fit of defiance, Aya had persuaded him to help her borrow two of the horses in the stable and ride off to the faire without their guardian's knowledge. The thought that they were traveling alone and without attendants or anyone who knew where they were bothered Ran. Since the death of his parents two years previously, he'd taken it upon himself to look out for Aya's welfare, and the whole trip struck him as being less than a good idea. However, when Aya had come to him that morning dressed for the outing with a smile on her face and bright ribbons braided into her dark hair, he'd found it impossible to say no to her. And now here he was, ridding down the road through the forest that lined the estate with his sister and no one else, and the sun swiftly sinking in the west.

"You were the one who insisted on staying so late," he reminded her. "If you try to hurry now, you'll fall off the horse. She's too big for you anyway."

Aya pouted. "Why must you always spoil my fun?"

"Because someone has to be responsible," Ran answered seriously.

"But why does it have to be you?" Aya protested. "You're only fourteen and yet you talk like an old man and you scold me more than Father ever did."

Ran winced at the mention of his father and tried to cover the expression. Even after two years, he was still sensitive about bringing up his parents and especially about being compared to them. Aya knew that, and she only mentioned the subject when she was irritated with him.

"I have to be responsible because you aren't," he replied grumpily.

Aya stuck her tongue out at him. "You're boring," she proclaimed, and suddenly kicked her horse in the side, causing the animal to break into a startled canter.

"Aya, wait!" Ran tried to follow her, but his own mount had started at the sudden movement and danced anxiously beneath him for a moment before he managed to gain control again.

"Hurry up, Ran!" Aya called back to him in a singsong voice, urging her horse into a gallop. She rounded a slight bend in the road ahead of them, and the trees that lined the road blocked his view of her. Cursing, Ran tried to convince his skittish mount that going forward was a good idea. Finally, he persuaded the animal to move in the right direction and quickly urged it into a canter. Ahead of him, he thought he heard Aya yelp, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She'd probably fallen off again. Really, what did she expect when she tried to ride a horse that was too big for her too fast?

Sure enough, when he rounded the corner, he saw the mare Aya had been riding trotting away down the road with an empty saddle. Resignedly, he cast his eyes to the ground, expecting to see his sister sitting in the dirt looking miffed, or tripping over her skirts in an attempt to run after the horse and catch it before it got too far away. Instead, empty road met his gaze. He felt a stirring of unease.

"Aya?" he called. When only silence answered him, he became even more concerned. Where was she? He hadn't been that far behind her. If she was hiding in the woods in an effort to scare him, he was going to sit her down and give her a stern talking to later.

"Aya!" he yelled.

This time he thought he heard a faint noise in response. Off in the trees to his right, he heard a scuffling sound and a muffled voice that sounded vaguely like his sister's. Then, quite suddenly, he heard her crying out.

"Ran! Help!"

Throwing himself out of the saddle, he dashed towards her voice, leaving his horse to wander wherever it pleased. As he ran into the trees, he thought he saw figures ahead of him. It was late afternoon, and the sun was low enough in the sky that it didn't penetrate into the woods very well, but there was enough light for him to make out at least three people in the woods before him. The shortest one, who was struggling to free herself from the grip of one of the other forms, was obviously his sister.

With a feral growl, Ran drew the small dagger he wore on his belt. He wished he had a better weapon, but the knife was all he was allowed to carry with him until he got older. Still, it was better than nothing, and he lashed out with it, striking at the figure that held his sister captive. The person sidestepped neatly out of his way, and he rounded quickly and lunged again, this time managing to draw blood on the person's upper arm. To his disappointment, the figure did not release Aya, and he was readying himself to attack again when hands seized his wrist and twisted mercilessly, forcing him to drop the dagger.

Ran cursed; he had almost forgotten the other person. He kicked at his assailant, but the other was too quick for him, dodging his attack and then seizing him by the throat. Behind him, Ran thought he heard Aya scream as he struggled desperately against the form holding him, one hand trying to pry off the grip on his throat and the other clawing rather ineffectually at his opponent's neck and chest. His only rewards for this were that he determined that his attacker was male, and a small scrap of paper that his hand encountered somewhere in the man's coat. The grip on his neck did not loosen, however, and Ran was beginning to wonder how long he could manage without breathing when the other person spoke.

"Put him down." The voice was calm, collected, and male.

The hand on his neck released him, and Ran felt himself hit the ground with a thud. Sucking in air, he tried to lever himself up, but before he could the man who had tried to strangle him grabbed his wrists and hauled him to his feet, keeping his hands pinned firmly behind his back. The second figure approached him, and Ran observed that his sister was now apparently unconscious and slung over the man's shoulder like a sack of grain. He struggled futilely, but only succeeded in making the grip on his wrists tighten.

The second man stopped right in front of him, and Ran found himself staring into golden eyes as cold and hard as the metal they resembled. "You're lucky my master told me you weren't to be damaged," an indifferent voice informed him. Then a fist went crashing into his stomach, and everything went black.

/-/-/-/

Someone was shaking him.

"Master Ran? Master Ran, are you all right?"

With a groan, Ran opened his eyes. He was forced to shut them again almost immediately as his retinas were assaulted by a bright ball of light just above him. After a moment, he cautiously tried again, and after some blinking, the ball of light resolved itself into a lantern which was being carried by one of the footmen. The man was leaning over him, looking concerned. He could hear other people moving about in the woods a little distance off, but nowhere did he hear the sound of a young, feminine voice.

"Aya!" he gasped, sitting up. Memories of just how he'd come to be lying in the dirt in the forest came flooding back to him and filled him with panic. "Where's Aya!"

"We hoped she'd be with you," the footman informed him regretfully. "No one's seen hide or hair of her since this morning."

"She was with me," Ran said, rising to his feet. He winced as the movement drew rather painful protests from his ribs and stomach.

The footman reached over to steady him. "Careful there," he cautioned.

Ran ignored his warning. "They took her," he growled. "I've got to find her."

"Steady on," the footman said, not releasing him. "Half the estate's already turned out to look for her. You leave it to us. We've got to get you home; your guardian is probably having kittens by now. The whole place has been in an uproar since the horses came back without you two."

"I've got to find her," Ran insisted, shaking off the man's hold. But even as he said it he knew that there was little hope. Aside from the light cast by the footman's lantern, the woods were completely dark. The waxing moon had already set, indicating that it must be fairly late in the evening. Aya's captors, whoever they were, had had hours to get away.

Ran made a noise in his throat of mingled fury and despair, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his skin. He paused, however, when something in one of his hands crackled slightly. Opening his fist, he found a small scrap of parchment with part of a broken wax seal. For a moment he stared at it blankly, then he remembered his struggles with the man who had tried to strangle him. He'd clawed at the front of the man's coat, and come away with this slip, holding onto it reflexively, since he'd had nothing else to hold onto. Inspecting it, he observed that it appeared to be blank, aside from a small ink blot which had probably been accidental. The seal, however, intrigued him. Only part of it was left, but if he looked closely, he could make out outlines in the wax that might correspond to a crest of some kind. He was squinting at it, trying to see the pattern clearly in the dim light, when the footman clapped a hand on his shoulder, making him jump.

"Come along, Master Ran," the footman said soothingly. "We'll just get you back to the manor while we look for your sister. I'm sure your guardian will want to speak with you."

Ran winced. Oh yes, his guardian would want to speak with him and would probably want to know what the hell he thought he was doing, running off like that with his sister. What made Ran feel worse was that he didn't have a decent answer. He'd known at the time that it was a bad idea to let Aya have her way and leave alone, but he'd done it anyway. Granted, it had been Aya's idea, but he could have and should have stopped her. After all, she was still young and impetuous, but he was old enough to know better and should have considered the consequences. And now his sister, wherever she was, was paying the price for his foolishness and irresponsibility.

Bowing his head in shame, Ran once again tightened his fist around the scrap of parchment. It was the only lead he had, and represented his only chance to put things right. He would track down the men who had taken his sister and find where and why they had taken her if it took the rest of his life.

'Aya,' he vowed silently, 'I will find you. And when I do, I'll never fail you again.'

Tbc...

Author's Ramblings: Oh my God, I've started an epic. It's quite long already, and I'm only a few chapters in, but then I've been very productive lately. It's amazing how having a biochemistry final makes you want to write fanfiction. Or read fanfiction, or play solitaire, or do the dishes, or clean the bathroom, or do anything that doesn't involve studying biochemistry.

On another note, while one pairing in this fic is already set (that being the Ran/Ken, which will appear in time), others are still open. It has been suggested that I should put in some Youji/Omi as a background pairing. I really don't care one way or the other, but I know some people are partial to that pairing, so I thought I'd throw the idea out there and see what people think. Feel free to suggest other pairings as well, although I'll probably disregard them if I think they wouldn't fit into the structure of the story.